No One is Stealing My Fourth
Donald Trump destroys everything he touches, but he can’t touch our patriotism.
Donald Trump has taken so much from so many in the decade-plus he’s been at the forefront of American politics. But he’s not taking the Fourth of July.
Lord knows he’s trying. First he took the Smithsonian’s annual Folklife Festival, a celebration of the varied heritage of America and Americans. It was forced to cede its place on the National Mall to Trump’s insipid Great American State Fair. The fair, widely derided online as attracting “tens of people,” features a sometimes-operational Ferris wheel, a replica Trump arch, and exhibits from the states. True to form for anything Trump touches (see: the Reflecting Pool), his replica arch fell apart and the electricity went out on the fair’s first day, ruining much of the food and melting ice cream. Fairgoers who were willing to trade an ice cream cone for a Vanilla Ice performance were left wanting, too, when the rapper’s performance was canceled because of inclement weather.
Ever-delusional Trump declared it a success, claiming it was “packed with happy people.”
Then he tried to take the annual fireworks display on the National Mall. The Washington Post reported last month that Trump is planning to make it a Trump rally:
“We are going to host the most spectacular TRUMP RALLY of them all, a ‘TRIBUTE TO AMERICA,’” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. The event will feature the planned largest fireworks show in history, call attention to Trump’s changes to the Lincoln Memorial’s Reflecting Pool, and feature a selection of patriotic and classic songs — including Trump’s own playlist, the president added.
Come for glorious displays of color lighting the night sky and get a free white nationalist speech? That’s not a bargain many people want.
July Fourth has long been my favorite holiday. It’s usually hot, swelteringly so — and I love summer’s heat. It’s happy, joyful. Naturalization ceremonies lead the nightly news. Families load into cars and drive to town or county parks to lounge on blankets and eat hotdogs and snow cones. Kids dart around, chasing fireflies and dancing with sparklers, waiting for the skies to darken and the Star-Spangled Banner begin.
It’s not just a happy holiday; it’s also a hopeful one. We remember the hope of a new nation. We hope that soon we will live up to our ideals — that all people are created equal, that liberty for all is a just pursuit, that our brave experiment will be fully realized. We know we’re not there; Baby Kohen, and George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, and Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray, and Amber Thurman, and Josseli Barnica, and Tierra Walker, and Renee Good, and Alex Pretti, and the Prairieland Nine tell us so. The Supreme Court told us so last week when it ruled against Haitian and Syrian immigrants and asylum seekers. But there’s hope. Those in the democracy space — the Indivisibles, and the 50501s, and the Lawyers Defending Democracy, and the Marc Eliases, and the Norm Eisens — and in the independent media space — the Aaron Parnases, and the Medias Touches, and the Contrarians — work every day for a more hopeful future for all.
And that’s why Donald Trump can’t take the Fourth of July from us. He can soil the annual fireworks display on the National Mall with his sour words, his temper-tantrum tirade masquerading as a speech, his foul language and coarse mockery. But we know he’s losing his grip on even the small section of Americans he once enthralled. We know that when they can’t afford the gas to drive the family to Washington, D.C., for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration or the burgers and brats for the barbecue, they know who is to blame.
On Coffee with the Contrarians Monday, legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance offered inspiration for this year’s celebration.
Do not give up your right to celebrate this country. Find your friends, your family, something going on locally and go out and celebrate the promise of America and what we can be, and do not focus on Donald Trump. Instead, focus on the Norm Eisens of the world who are fighting back and focus on the brave people, the plaintiffs, who allow norm to sue in their name, the people that run for city councils and state senates and insist on democratic process. The heroes are all among us. Our job at the 250th is to celebrate them.
After I moved to Washington, D.C., in 2013, I resisted going to the Mall for the fireworks. I thought dealing with the crowds wouldn’t be worth it. In 2017, a friend convinced me to go. We walked a couple of miles to the Mall and through the metal detectors, found a spot under the Washington Monument, and settled in. All around were families and young adults — people from all over the world, all laughing, celebrating what this great nation can be.
Trump can lie and whine and try to steal the spotlight from the United States of America. But we know better. We know this holiday and this country are not for him.
So, wherever you are, shine bright this July Fourth. Fly your flags and cheer the town parade. Watch whatever fireworks you can, even on the National Mall. Because this is your holiday.
Jamie Riley is Senior Editor at The Contrarian.
I totally agree. We owe so much to those who came before us who sacrificed greatly for our rights and privileges. Trump should not even enter our thoughts on the 4th of July; he doesn't understand the concept of sacrifice. We have to stop letting this idiot and his cronies ruin everything that we hold dear. For a start, stop letting him live "rent free" in our heads. We need to take back control of the things we can. I can't think of anything better than to start with our patriotism, compassion, courage, and love for each other.